the only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage
by Bakugods
Summary: He's had a few worse experiences of his own. But he didn't expect that he'd be getting involved in a roller coaster of a relationship between his best friend, a high school comic book nerd, and a violent Nursing student. AU
1. 1: Good Morning? Good Morning, Indeed

**the only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage**

 **summary** : He's had a few worse experiences of his own. But he didn't expect that he'd be getting involved in a roller coaster of a relationship between his best friend, a high school comic book nerd, and a violent Nursing student. AU

 **rating** : m for language

 **warnings** : none

 **disclaimer** : Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

 _author's note below_

* * *

 **Interlude**

Uchiha, S.  


University life sucks ass. Literally.

Everything about it is stressful, and professors are toxic. No one gives a single damn about you, not even the person sitting beside you. Sometimes, you end up not caring about yourself too. The homework stacks up on your desk like business paperwork, so much until you say to yourself, "Oh, screw it." and give yourself a good night's sleep, and suddenly waking up in the middle of the night and decide to finish your homework anyway.

So much work that you actually go to first period starving and completely brain-drained and exhausted and looking like you came from hell and back.

That's what Sasuke Uchiha exactly feels right about now as a third year college student studying Business. Although it's only the first day of school. That's why he's having his weekly alone-time (which has been going on since last year) by the river near his University.

(Hopefully, this habit doesn't get worse. _Self-control, Uchiha._ )

This is probably the only thing Sasuke likes about the University—or what's around the University. This specific area itself. Sitting by the river, under the bridge, relaxing under the glare of the warm noontime sun, a burning cigarette between his lips, the sound of flowing water soothing his ears, and nothing else; that's what he'd like to call an ideal way to spend his 3-hour lunch break.

But one particular day, which is today, everything went bat-shit crazy. From the moment he woke up and probably until the end of the day (who knows, since it's just 11:30 in the morning). And that day was when everything changed too. He learned too much about the things around him, and he discovered too much information about the people closest to him.

And the same day (today) is also when he is sitting by the riverbank beside a soaked-to-the-bone girl with pale skin and nice-smelling dark hair.

And right now was probably the best time to say _how_ the hell it all happened.

 **Interlude, end.**

* * *

 **Chapter One  
** Good Morning? Good Morning, Indeed.

 _Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in_  
 _Nothing to say but what a day how's your boy been_  
 _Nothing to do it's up to you_  
 _I've got nothing to say but it's OK_  
 _Good morning, goo—_

A pale hand shot out from the thick blanket of the lower bunk bed and immediately swipes the screen of the iPhone resting by the end table, the cheery voices of The Beatles cut off. A groan emerged from under the blanket and a whine came from the upper bunk.

" _Teme_... why so early..?" A rough, drowsy voice came from the upper bunk. The entire bunk bed shook lightly and gave out a slight squeak. A black tuft of hair sticks out of the bed sheets and another groan came out from it.

"You dumbass, it's already 7:40 AM." A clearer voice says indifferently from the lower bunk. "And first period starts in 8 sharp."

"It's even the—" _Yawn_. "—first day... of the school year..."

The bunk bed shook and squeaked again. Then a tanned arm shot out of the bed above. "Why didn't'cha—" A longer _yawn_. "—wake up earlier?"

Sasuke Uchiha gets out from under his blanket and ruffles his hair. "Had too much to drink last night, probably..." He rubs his forehead with his hand, as if trying to soothe it. "And I probably snoozed the alarm five times half-asleep."

Well, he _did_ have too much shots last night. He and Naruto. And it was probably Kiba's fault why the both of them got a bad hangover and why they're about to run late for their first class, because who the hell hosts a party before the first day of the first semester of your third year in college? Didn't the mutt learn anything from experience over the years?

"Who's the dumbass between us now, teme?"

"Still you." Sasuke stands up from the bed and tiredly walks towards the bathroom. "If there's anyone to blame, it's dog-boy, alright?" And he enters the bathroom, leaving a grumbling blonde struggling to climb down his bed.

Sasuke Uchiha rubs his eyes and he stares at his reflection on the mirror in front of him. Mussed-up hair, bags under his eyes, a trail of dried saliva ran down from the corner of his lip to his chin, and was that a fucking hickey by the juncture of his neck and shoulder? It looked like it was bitten on two times...

Jesus.

The young man runs a hand through his messy hair, and quickly strips down and steps in the shower. He's late anyway, and he reeks of alcohol and sweat. Not really a good impression to give everyone when you're going to your first class on the first day of the first semester of your third year in university.

And so, he takes a nice, long shower with a peace of mind. (Other than the fact of hearing a loud thud from outside the bathroom and hearing Naruto's scream of agony afterwards.)

Good morning to him. Aside from the painful pounding against his head, it's a good morning, indeed.

 **oOo**

"I'll go ahead, dobe." He says as he squeezes a softmelon pan with tomato filling in between his teeth. He quickly puts on his sneakers and steps outside, closing the door shut before hearing his roommate say something (probably another insult thrown at him).

He wasn't in the mood to hear Naruto's constant bullshit this morning. And he sure as hell isn't in the mood to go to _class_.

But he has to.

His sadist of a mother is watching him somewhere around the campus. Her eyes are everywhere. She knows when he skips class, she knows when he goes to parties, she knows when he goes back to his dorm that he shares with Naruto, and she even knows where the hell he is eating.

Apparently, he's used to it. It's been going on for five years already.

Because it all started when he was a second year in high school, and he happened to have been kidnapped by a bunch of goons who work under a gang that's against his family's company. And he was used as hostage.

It wasn't exactly a good memory. But thanks to that experience, his mother almost had a heart attack and almost murdered the entire gang if it weren't for his collected and calm father.

They really were perfect for each other. If his mother is batshit crazy, then his father's there to calm her down.

Other than that, his mother hasn't called him yet about the party last night, and that he's running late at the moment, so he's probably not in trouble. Yet. Probably. Hopefully not. He wasn't in the mood to explain himself to his mother either. He can't just tell her, "It's Kiba's fault," because he knows that she's a complete smartass and she'll retort with a, "You're mature enough to refuse his offer."

And a never-ending lecture.

All he wants to do today is to have some peace and quiet for himself. He's not in any mood to make any contact with people. He _really_ can't wait for lunch break.

He takes another bite on his melon pan and suppresses a satisfied groan. _God_ , these things taste so good. Especially when the tomato filling

Sasuke continues walking leisurely (and as slowly as possible) towards the Business building, which is three more blocks away. He had walked four blocks already. And he has no idea why his building is so far from the boys' dormitory. And the girls' dormitory is in the middle of the entire campus, so they have it easier. Talk about reverse sexism.

Joking.

He's just one lazy-ass.

 **oOo**

It's 8:57 already, he ponders as he reads his watch. By now, he's probably supposed to be in Finance class (he checked his schedule earlier), but he made _sure_ he left the dorm on the right time and walking slow enough to exactly arrive early for Economics.

Since, of course, he wouldn't like Headmistress Tsunade to lash out on him for being late. And he hears rumors that she even castrates the people who dare try to rebel against her. And he wouldn't want to get the space behind Kankuronara¹ when everything else is occupied. He never did, but people say it's mysterious _bad luck_ to sit behind him, and every year, the bad luck gets worse, so he never bothers to try it for himself.

Also, Economics takes 2 hours in the morning, then his lunch break starts. _Then_ he can have a good smoke and alone-time.

Basically, on his first day, he's got everything planned out already.

He really is a genius.

He smiles to himself as he finishes his melon bread.

 **oOo**

"Morning." Comes Hyuuga Neji's monotonous greeting as they both enter the lecture hall at the same time. He and the Hyuuga aren't in very good terms—and it doesn't look like they'll ever be—and it surprised the Uchiha that Neji even bothered to greet him. Disregarding the friendly gesture, Sasuke gives him a sideways glance and responds with a lazy grunt before checking the best seat in the room.

The room's pretty empty, so the only people in the room are him, Hyuuga, Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Temari, Kumo Samui, and where the hell is Naruto?

Knowing him, he probably stopped by Ichiraku's for breakfast.

 _Idiot._ Sasuke sighs. He checks his watch again and it shows a red 9:10. Ten more minutes before the class actually begins.

He shrugs and completely removes Naruto from his worries. Naruto's a big boy (man?) and he could take care of himself anyway. Sasuke's not responsible for the shit Naruto does, and he can't babysit him 24/7. Naruto's smart enough to survive a day on his own without talking or asking for help from Sasuke.

Or not.

 _Whatever_.

Sasuke chooses a spot at the back and buries his head in his crossed arms. The least he could do is take back the sleep he desperately lost because of his stupid alarm and the intense hangover. And when his eyes were about to drop, the double doors of the lecture hall slammed open. His eyes shot open.

Fucking hell.

"Good morning, little shitheads." The voice of his instructor, a.k.a. the university headmistress, a.k.a. Tsunade Senju, a.k.a. (or how they say she likes to be called) Lady Tsunade, echoes throughout the almost-empty room.

Well, that's abrupt.

Sasuke groans inwardly and begrudgingly stands up straight, his eyes threatening to drop any moment. _Shit, I need to sleep. I should have drank some to-go coffee from the convenience store..._ He notes to himself that he'll take a strong one later.

The rest—or whoever bothered to attend—of the class mumbles something in return and Sasuke can see the annoyed scowl of Tsunade, but she sighs and tells them to sit down.

"Okay, before we begin the lecture, let me tell you kids some of the rules I'll need to set out for my class. _And_ for my campus. Because I don't want any of you doing anything that could cause any trouble around here. Got that?" She narrows her eyes at each individual in the room and crosses her arms under her over-sized chest.

 _Are those even real?_ Sasuke mindlessly stares at her buxom.

"First among everything, I don't want any of you getting pregnant or getting _anyone_ pregnant." Tsunade then looks at Temari and Samui, then at the males in the room. "I'm pretty sure you lot were given a bunch of rubbers on Gym class during high school and your first two years in college."

The room stays quiet.

Tsunade then continues, "I want all of you to be responsible and intelligent professionals. Because in the future, if any of you want to become successful businessmen and businesswomen, a baby or a child can keep you from focusing on your work. Having a child and a hectic job such as having a business can keep you from having any sleep and it will be difficult to prioritize your tasks." She looks at the students once more and her arms drop to her sides.

No one reacts.

"Second rule." She says firmly, "I will not allow anyone to enter my class once I have stepped in this room. But since today is your first day, I will give consideration. As your instructor and your headmistress, I can assure you that I can teach all of you to be proper students. You need to learn how to be punctual and how to respect others and yourself." Tsunade places her hand on her hip.

And she begins to drone on and on about the penalty, Uniform day, and events of the school. Sasuke doesn't bother to listen anymore since he knew all of it even before he began college; and he's got his brother to thank for that. And he could tell on Tsunade's face that she's getting tired of doing this, saying the same thing every single year. But, of course, she's just doing her job. And she does it well.

Sasuke glances at his wristwatch again and it's _already fucking 9:29_. He clicks his tongue in annoyance.

Despite of what he said earlier, he _still_ worries about Naruto. He can't help it. Naruto's like another brother to him, and he can't really count on the idiot to actually do things the right way when Naruto can't exactly think of the consequences of certain situations properly. Especially when he's highly enthusiastic about something.

Naruto doesn't think. He just _does_. And that's also one of the reasons why they both ended up in a hangover. (Also including his carelessness.)

But before he could even add another comment about Naruto in his head, the doors of the lecture hall burst open for the second time that morning, revealing a disheveled Naruto Uzumaki with a steaming hot cup of ramen in his hand, and a pair of chopsticks in the other.

Naruto grins sheepishly, "Am I late? Did I miss anything?"

Tsunade seemed to immediately glower and her glare intensified as she faces Naruto, who's still breathing heavily by the door. "Mr. Uzumaki," she says lowly. Naruto jumps and (thankfully) sees the danger in the situation.

"Y-Yes, _baa_ -san?" He stutters.

Sasuke slaps his head in frustration and mutters "Idiot!" under his breath.

The aura of Tsunade had fueled up like wildfire and everything else was too explicit.

 **oOo**

11:00. Just in time for lunch break.

Sasuke relaxes by the riverbank as he lies down and rests his head under his arms, facing the sky. The almost-midday sun touches his skin violently, but the warmth spread throughout his body, making him sigh in satisfaction.

 _This_ is what he'd been waiting for.

He closes his eyes in attempt to get a short nap. He deserved the rest. The entire class with Tsunade ever since Naruto came in, she just started bitching about everything. Especially concerning Naruto. Sasuke has no idea why, but Naruto's been doing random crap the moment he sat down in front of the Uchiha.

Sasuke could have used the whole time Tsunade was lashing out at Naruto for a good nap, but the dumbass had to sit directly in _front_ of him. So he ended up struggling to stay awake while other later students quietly file in the lecture hall without Tsunade spotting them.

Despite of that, Sasuke managed to get out of the end of the class unscathed. And he immediately headed over here, without anyone questioning him about it.

Naruto didn't, at least, since he already knew about it the day Sasuke started visiting the river when they were second years. And besides, during lunch, all Naruto does is hanging out with Sakura or causing some trouble alongside Kiba. He'd only pester Sasuke when he tags along with them.

Sasuke sighs and rolls on his side. By 12 PM later, he'll get the cancer stick and have a smoke. Right now, he'll just sleep it off for awhile. The sun's not that bad by this time anyway.

The soft grass tickled Sasuke's cheek, and the vibrating purrs of the engines of cars passing the bridge soothed Sasuke. Just perfect. His breathing evened out, and his mind was about to shut off, when all of a sudden, a loud honk reaches his ears.

Sasuke's bloodshot eyes opened wide once again.

 _God-fucking-dammit!_

Sasuke slowly sits up and looks around. What the hell happened?

He hears an alarmed shout from the bridge and he looks up from his area. And there, he sees a fucking girl standing at the edge of the bridge, _outside_ the railings. Her hands were gripping the railings behind her and she was looking down at the river.

"Miss! You need to get back on the bridge!" Sasuke hears a citizen shout. And there was more honking and car doors closing and more shouts from passersby were practically begging her to get her shit together and _stop_ whatever the hell she's about to do.

 _Fucking listen to them, idiot!_

What the hell is she doing!?

He squints at her figure. He can't properly see her face since her long, dark hair was covering it, and looking at her skinny legs, it was like she was _shaking_ in fear. Sasuke stands up and observes her movements. (He's got really sharp eyes. Don't ask.)

She's not budging yet.

Fuck.

Her foot moved slightly forward.

 _Don't do it._

She's about to kill herself.

In front of Sasuke.

By the river where he hangs out every day every lunch break.

Oh, dear God.

And out of nowhere (it was to be expected but she just _suddenly_ —), she fucking jumped off the edge, not making a single sound. Not a yelp or a squeak. The people on the bridge gasped and one of them tried to grab for her, but it was too late. She's too far from arm's reach and already in mid-air.

What's he going to do?!

What is he _supposed_ to do, anyway?!

 _Splash!_

Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_ —

"Hey, dude! GET HER!" He hears from afar, and he didn't even know if they were calling for _him_ , but alarms were going off in his head loudly like sirens and something just _snapped_ in him. And before he knew it, he's underwater. He's swimming towards a flailing figure that's dropping to the deep ground of the river, his vision slightly blurred from the water.

He swims faster and he's _quickly losing his breath and his arms stretch to reach out for her body_ —

Something pushed him back and slim arms wrapped around his torso tightly, all of the air in his body left him as he breathed them all out in the water, bubbles floating up to the surface of the water.

He gazes at the girl hugging him underwater, running out of oxygen. And she looks up at him. And her eyes took his breath away. Literally. And his lungs suddenly constricted painfully.

He winced and his mouth opened, the water quickly entering and travelling towards his lungs. Sasuke begins coughing in water and he feels the arms around him going tighter and tighter and it felt like they were moving up, the water pressure decreasing. His legs are trying to kick harder, but he's feeling too weak to put too much effort.

And his chest starts to _burn_. Burning a lot. Lots of heat.

He grits his teeth.

 _Almost there._

And then everything goes black.

 **Chapter One, end.**

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Hey! Here's a new story. It's inspired by a few manga I read, and I needed to get it out of my system. I am planning for this story to be multi-chaptered, but as usual, updates are inconsistent and I can't promise anything. But I hope you enjoyed reading! Tell me what you think. :)

¹ **Kankuronara** – Kankuro + おなら (onara – meaning "fart" in Japanese). A nickname for Kankuro, proudly constructed by Naruto and Sasuke uses it for fun.


	2. 2: She's Just an Angel in Disguise

**Warnings** : none

 **Disclaimer** : Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

 _Sorry for any grammatical errors and typos!_

 _Author's note below_

* * *

 **Interlude**

Uchiha, S.

Sasuke never really liked swimming.

He wasn't _bad_ at it. But he didn't enjoy it. That's why whenever Naruto or Kiba or anyone else invites him to a pool party or going to the beach for a swim, he'd decline. Besides, what's the point of getting wet when there's a shower?

Showers were a lot better. You're alone and the water's _all yours_.

Just the thought of being in the same space of water (and probably piss) as his friends and other people he doesn't know makes him shudder. It was gross and disgusting and nasty and everything that isn't good to the world.

And no, he's not scared of drowning.

And no, he's not scared of water.

Not at all.

 **Interlude, end.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**  
She's Just an Angel in Disguise

Bleary, ebony eyes opened slowly, meeting the angry glare of the midday sun. Sasuke immediately shut his eyes, wincing from the bright light.

He groans in discomfort and realized that he was laid down on the grass.

Did he fall asleep while having a good smoke?

Though, his mouth didn't taste like nicotine.

And he felt damp and his clothes felt heavy, and his hair was sticking to his face and at the back of his neck.

 _What the hell happened to me?_ He mused to himself.

"U—Um, are you awake now?" A soft, timid voice came from his left.

He turned his head to the side and there, his own eyes came in contact with a pair of lilac, almost-white orbs. And he suddenly saw Neji sitting there beside him. A female Neji.

Oh, Kami. That's right.

He remembers now.

He saved someone from drowning after jumping off the bridge. And it was a girl at that. And it was _this_ girl.

Sasuke sat up and gave her a quick once-over.

The female Neji's face was round and her cheeks were red (from the sun, maybe?). She was biting on her lower lip anxiously. She was wearing a school uniform, which was as damp as his clothes. Her hair was long and it was a dark blue (like the night sky). Her hands were clutching on her school skirt tightly, and her shirt was so sheer from the water, he could see her nude-colored lace bra.

He snorted.

"Hn." He answered aloofly.

She blinked at him with those Neji-like eyes.

So she's a fucking Hyuuga. She's related to that long-haired asshole. Only Hyuugas have those weird, white eyes.

"Um... you d—didn't have to save me, um... sir..." She said.

She stutters too much.

He snorted again. "Sorry but I didn't want to spend my day watching someone die in front of me and not do anything." He shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.

Her frown went deeper and she looked ashamed. "And... s—sorry for suffocating y—you underwater... s—sir..."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her.

Is that why he passed out? And _she_ was the one that saved _his_ ass in the end?

"Yeah, it's nothing."

She shook her head. "No, I—I'm really sorry. I mean... I—I want to buy you s—some lunch, maybe…? T—to compensate..."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at that.

"What, compensate for me saving you or you suffocating me?"

"B—both, I guess..." she said.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his still-damp hair. It felt sticky between his fingers.

"You don't even know me. For all you know, I could hurt you." He said, staring at her again. She bit her lip and shook her head again.

"Um... i—if you were planning to do t—that, you would have done i—it by now," She giggled quietly. "And I—I sincerely am sorry f—for suffocating y—you..." Her voice trailed off as she stared directly at him.

"Didn't your parents tell you not to talk to strangers?" He scowled at her.

She smiled. "I've no reason t—to listen to my f—father anymore."

Both of his eyebrows rose at her answer in interest.

A Hyuuga _and_ a rebel. And he's being offered free lunch by the same person. Damn.

"Well, alright then..." He answered in finality.

He stood up and wiped off the grass that stuck to his damp clothes. "But let's head to my dorm first. I have to change. And I need to lend you some clothes since your boobs are already showing through your clothes."

Sasuke quickly turned around and began heading to his dorm building.

He didn't get to see her flushed face, but her little squeak of embarrassment was enough to make him smirk.

 **oOo**

The moment the two of them entered his shared dorm, Sasuke scanned the entire room to see if a tall blonde was present and he sighed in relief when he found none. If Naruto was here, he wouldn't be able to get out of the room without hearing the idiot sing 'Sasuke's getting laid!' over and over again.

"My roommate's not around, so make yourself comfy. I'll get you some clothes." He said to the girl, and he looked through his closet.

He fished out a black shirt he had already outgrown (he didn't know why he kept it) and a pair of grey boxers. He tossed them to the Hyuuga girl sitting on his office chair by his study desk and she clumsily caught the clothes.

"The bathroom's over there." He pointed at the only door in the room other than the front door. "Hope you don't mind. We don't have any female underwear around here." He explained indifferently and the Hyuuga girl became a stuttering mess.

"N—No! I—It's—it's alright! I—I mean—than—thank you for the clothes!" She immediately stood up and went straight to the bathroom.

Sasuke smirked and took a change of clothes for himself.

He took out a blue shirt with the clan symbol printed on the back and a pair of skinny jeans. He wasn't in the mood for a flashy outfit today.

Who was there to impress anyway?

He pulled out a pair of sneakers from under his bed and a pair of slip-ons that Sakura left. Surely, the Hyuuga girl would fit in these.

When he was done getting ready, his guest emerged from the bathroom. And she looked a hell of a lot better wearing _his_ clothes.

He didn't know why but a surge of male pride spread throughout his system.

"Here." He handed her the slip-ons. "Just leave your clothes and shoes on my bed. I'll take care of 'em."

The Hyuuga girl looked shocked. "W—What? No! T—that would be rude of me... A—and you don't even know me..."

"No. I don't mind. And you don't know me either." He retorted.

Her back slumped in defeat as she placed her neatly folded clothes on his bed, her shoes on top of them. Sasuke watched her with a curious look. "What the hell's your name, anyway?"

She pursed her lips. "H—Hinata."

Hinata.

It perfectly suits her, so much that it made Sasuke want to shake his head in astonishment.

He didn't.

"Hn." He simply acknowledged it. "Sasuke."

Hinata nodded her head and wore the slip-ons. "Then... l—let's get going... Sasuke-san..."

His name never sounded so much better.

 **oOo**

She made him choose where to eat, so he chose Ichiraku's. He didn't want to spend too much on lunch—besides, payday's two weeks away. And he wasn't overly concerned of the fact that he might bump into Naruto in this place.

Naruto's having his second date with Sakura today, somewhere in one of the hang-outs of the university, so there's nothing to worry about.

"Y—You're a Uchiha?" She remarked while they both waited for their orders.

He nodded. "And you're a Hyuuga."

She pursed her lips and nodded her head meekly. "The eyes give it away." He added, staring right into those said-eyes.

Those particular eyes creeps him out. But hers are too soft to even give him the chills. In all honesty, it's giving him an entire different chill.

 _It's like staring right into an angel's eyes._ He thought to himself.

He immediately shook the thought off his head.

A pink hue spread through Hinata's cheeks and she immediately looked away from his focused gaze. "I—um—I mean... is that so."

And that ended their conversation.

Both of them were quiet the entire time, until their orders were served in front of them. Both of them clapped their hands together and murmured a quiet 'thank you for the food' before digging in.

"Where's your best friend, Sasuke?" The voice of ramen shop owner broke the pregnant silence between Sasuke and Hinata.

"On a date." Sasuke answered between slurping his noodles.

The old man laughed in amusement. "Oh, really?" He grinned widely. "And it looks like you're having your own date today, eh, Sasuke?"

Hinata squeaked at that and covered her reddening face with her long hair.

Sasuke snorted and shook his head. "It's just a little treat, Ossan. Nothing special."

Teuchi's grin went wider and waved his hand carelessly, "Whatever it is, it's on the house! Alright?"

Hinata almost protested but Sasuke nodded his head. "Yeah, thanks, Teuchi-san. We appreciate it."

"Anytime!" Teuchi walked away with a smile and went to serve the other customers.

Sasuke continued eating, while Hinata stared at him and at the old man's back in shock. "Was that—was that really okay?"

"If he said so himself, then of course it is." The raven-haired college student said as he quietly slurped on his ramen.

Hinata bit the inside of her cheek as she stared at Sasuke's indifferent expression and timidly went back to eating her own ramen.

Sasuke noticed her lack of response and raised a questioning eyebrow at her, observing her.

Her long hair was getting in the way with her eating, but she didn't mind it. Her cheeks were warm and colored with a pink hue, and her thin hand delicately held her chopsticks. And his clothes looked really good on her (honestly speaking).

He didn't know how long he was staring at her face until she sensed his gaze focused on her that his own face turned warm.

"I—Is there something on my face, S—Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked innocently.

 _Shit._ "Ah, it's nothing." He pointed at the strands of hair sticking on her cheek. "Your hair's just in the way."

"Oh!" Hinata immediately tucks her hair behind her ear. "Um... t—thank you, Sasuke-san..." She gave him a shy smile.

Sasuke snorted and tipped his bowl to his lips, slowly sipping the delicious broth of his ramen. He brought the bowl back on the counter and simply said, "For a Hyuuga, you're a total dork."

He didn't see her reaction by that time, but he wished he did.

 **oOo**

"You can keep my clothes." Sasuke deadpanned at her as the both of them stood outside his dorm, a paper bag of her wet clothes and shoes in her hands.

Hinata's opal eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth hanging open. "W—What? B—but—I—I—I ca—can't..." Her index fingers were wildly pushing against each other.

"I don't see the problem with it when the owner of those clothes you're wearing says that you can." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, watching her bashful movements.

"I—I mean... I n—never kept a guy's c—clothes b—before..."

Her stuttering got worse, he noticed.

"Well, there's always a first time for everything." He sighed. "And I can't keep you here forever. My roommate will be back in a few minutes."

Hinata kept quiet, her teeth biting on her lower lip. "W—Well then..." She immediately bowed. "T—Thank you for d—drying my clothes..."

"Hn."

"And... t—thank you _so much_ for s—saving my life... Sasuke-san..." She blurted out. "A—A simple lunch like this w—wouldn't have been enough for me to repay y—you..."

Sasuke's eyebrows rose at that.

He completely forgot about the events of this morning. He _did_ save her from drowning. He wanted to ask her why she wanted to kill herself—and on where she got the idea that jumping off a bridge was a good idea—but it wasn't any of his business.

Besides, what does he care about this extremely shy, gawky, always-stuttering (pretty) high school girl?

"Whatever." He said apathetically. "Like I said, I didn't want to spend the entire day seeing someone die in front of me and knowing that I didn't do shit about it."

Hinata stood straight then, staring up at him in awe, not able to answer anything else. Her mouth was hanging open, and her cheeks were redder than before.

The Uchiha thought that she looked like a complete (adorable) idiot with that face.

A small smirk grew on his face and he casually poked her forehead.

Hinata yelped in pain and held the abused skin with her hand. "S—Sasuke-san!"

"Just go home, Hyuuga." He gestured at the way out of the university and Hinata gave him a grateful smile in return. He simply shrugged his shoulder and turned back to the building of his dormitory.

He needed a _nap_.

He heard her walking away by ten steps until she stopped again.

"A—Ah, w—well... Um... T—Thank you again!"

And he wished he saw the look on her pretty face again, but he was already inside the building. Too bad, Uchiha.

 **oOo**

"Whoa, why are you sleeping _here_ at a time like this?"

Naruto's loud voice woke him from his long-desired nap which lasted for around five minutes. His right eye shot open and saw Naruto standing by the door, removing his shoes.

"What's it to you? I pay for this place too, dobe." He turned on his side and closed his eyes shut as he listened to Naruto shuffling around the room.

"No, I mean... shouldn't you be on that little slope of yours by the river trying to fry yourself under the sun? Pretty unusual seeing you here."

Sasuke heard Naruto's watch and bracelet being haphazardly thrown on the makeshift kotatsu placed on the center of the room.

Well, what's his excuse?

"Something weird just happened." Was his short answer. He didn't want to share Naruto what happened. Not when a _girl_ was involved.

Not yet, anyway.

Naruto hummed in wonder and sat on Sasuke's roller chair. Obviously facing his back and watching him breathe.

"Well, whatever it is, d'ya wanna know about my date with Sakura-chan?" Naruto said with pure joy and interest.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Well, if you're going to say _no_ , then I'll just summarize everything to a short tell. No more details and all that."

"You don't even know the difference between a summary of a story and the entire story itself."

"If that's the case, then no, you don't have a choice."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Well, go on. I'm listening."

" _Teme_ , you have to face me when I'm talking." Naruto whined.

Sasuke groaned and sighed in defeat as he sat up, facing Naruto with crossed arms. " _I'm listening_." He said sternly.

Naruto grinned in delight. "Okay, great. So it went like this..."

Sasuke immediately shut out Naruto's voice and completely ignored everything that he has to say and just simply stared at the blonde's comical face, looking like he was actually paying attention. It wasn't like he didn't want to listen. He just didn't care.

But that's basically the same thing.

All he could think about is that he needed some good noon's sleep, and finish all of his afternoon classes.

His head was starting to throb, and his eyes were beginning to get heavy.

Sasuke doesn't know how bad he looks at the moment, but he knows that he looks like _shit_. He didn't care though. He just needed his goddamn sleep.

Screw Naruto.

His eyes were beginning to drop, and Naruto's voice was becoming more fuzzy and blurry to his hearing.

And before he knew it, for the second time that day, he passed out.

 **Chapter Two, end.**

* * *

 **Author's Note** : And Hinata and Sasuke finally meet! :) lmao hey! So it's been a few months since the last chapter, and I'm terribly sorry for that. Like I said, I don't make promises and I don't update consistently. I have a hard time trying to find the correct schedule for my stories. And I'm always busy with other things. So... yeah! Anyway, here's the second chapter. I hope it's not too short or too long or too boring for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it! And thank you for the lovely reviews—disregarding the few others! Oh well. Ignore all the nonsense blah I just said, please tell me what you think through reviews or message! :)

 **guest, Guest and Guest** —hi there! I don't know who you are but thanks for sharing your thoughts about SasuHina. I don't know what you're doing searching or reading or stumbling on SasuHina stories, but I advise you to read stories about your own ships. Based on some of my experiences, it's not exactly healthy to go mad about your NOTPs. Also, thank you for three reviews! Have a nice day. :) x

 **LIZA** —thank you so much! :) and don't be bothered by the flames, sweetheart. They're a waste of time!

 **Guest, Guest, Person and Binx** —thank you, lovely guest!

 **Guest** —hello, fellow patd fan!

 **Guest1** —thank you so so much! :)

 **aki** —oh my gosh, thank you! Haha! I'm so glad you liked it! Well, here's the second chapter! I hope I didn't disappoint! x


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